Master thesis for spring semester 2009

Power Aware Communication Platform for an Autonomous Sailboat

Power Aware Communication Platform for an
Autonomous Sailboat (original title: Power Aware Communication Platform for an autonomous sailboat)

The MICROTRANSAT 2009 Challenge is an international competition where
fully automatic sailboats of no more than 4 meters in length have to cross
the Atlantic Ocean. The sailboats must be able to communicate their actual
position and receive new routing and weather information from the ground
crew. Being on the way for possibly months, the computer and control systems
on board must be powered by regenerative energy sources (solar, wind, water)
to sustain operational at all times.
The TIK institute will be cooperating with the MAVT-Department on
this project and contribute the hardware and communication platform. The
Project involves design and implementation of a hardware platform that can
host multiple functionalities, such as communication, positioning and control
applications. The communication platform, especially the connectivity and
how it can be achieved, will be another main part of the project. Finally
the communication protocol and its implementation will complete the project.
Power consumption is a crucial topic and thus has to be considered in every
phase of the project.